High-tech cities around the world ranked for 2017

What cities are the most high-tech in the world?
The World Economic Forum and Business Insider consulted with research firm 2thinknow and came up with a list of the 25 most high-tech cities in the world for 2017.
According to the group, 10 factors related to technological advancement -- such as the number of patents filed per capita, startups, tech venture capitalists, and level of smartphone use -- were used to rank 85 cities, with the top 25 below.

25.) Washington

Photo Credit: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

While the U.S. capital is the seat of the federal government, it also has grown its high-tech jobs by 50 percent in the last decade, according to the study, placing it 25th worldwide among cities in the 2017 survey.

24.) Barcelona

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The study says the Spanish city cracks the Top 25 of the rankings thanks to a growing population of industrial designers and prominent smartphone use.

23.) Copenhagen

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2thinknow says Denmark's capital is a home for innovative urban planning and industrial designers, and the city prioritizes smart manufacturing.

22.) Hong Kong

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The former British colony exports $243 billion in high-tech goods, or 51 percent of the territory's total, according to the study.

21.) Berlin

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Germany's capital city has a strong start-up culture, some of the highest rates of venture capital investment in Europe, and is the only city in the world where all the major automotive brands are represented, according to the study.

20.) Shenzhen

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The southern Chinese city, which links to Hong Kong, is known for its patents, according to the study, and is becoming a hub for factories and robotics.

19.) Bangalore

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Bangalore is the center of India's high-tech industry, and according to 2thinknow, the city climbed from 49th place in 2016 to 19th in 2017 thanks to an influx of IT companies and a wealth of programmers in the city.

18.) Montreal

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Quebec's largest city is a haven for industrial design, programming, wearable technology and virtual reality, according to the study.

17.) Shanghai

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The Chinese city excels in patents and venture capital, ranking it 17th worldwide in the study.

16.) Bejing

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China's capital ranks high for its city-wide use of smartphones and number of patents filed per capita, according to the study.

15.) Amsterdam

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According to the study, the capital of the Netherlands has a combination of financial technology, energy efficiency and startup culture that makes it one of the top tech cities in Europe.

14.) Vancouver

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Western Canada's largest city is home to 600 digital media companies that generate more than $2 billion in revenue, according to the study.

13.) Stockholm

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Scandinavia's most populous city, in Sweden, has ambitions to go cash-free and also is home to the most billion-dollar startups in Europe, according to the study.

12.) Tokyo

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Japan's largest city and capital is home to a number of tech giants, the study notes, that also plan to use some of that savvy for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

11.) Dallas

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2thinknow says the Texas city moved up from 28th in the 2016 study to 11th in the 2017 version thanks to rapid growth of venture capitalists and integration of technology into the city's landscape.

10.) Chicago

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Per the study, Chicago ranked high among high-tech jobs among American cities, and also a hotbed for urban planning innovation, earning it a spot in the Top 10.

9.) Toronto

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The highest-ranking Canadian city in the study, Toronto is home to 30 percent of the nation's IT firms, with those companies producing approximately $52 billion per year in revenue.

8.) Singapore

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According to the study, Singapore is home to a large number of programmers and venture capitalists.

7.) Boston

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With Boston being a hub of high-tech education at Massachusetts Institute for Technology, Harvard, Tufts and Northeastern, as well as several venture capital firms, it places the city seventh in the study's rankings of high-tech cities worldwide.

6.) Taipei

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Taiwan's capital city is known for its industrial design, according to 2thinknow, and also the high number of venture captitalists in the region.

5.) Seoul

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South Korea's largest city is also the highest-ranked Asian city in the study, and according to 2thinknow, Seoul files more patents than any city in the world.

4.) Los Angeles

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The study found that while Los Angeles is best known for its entertainment industry, startups and venture capital are also fueling a high-tech sector boom in the area.

3.) London

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2thinknow says that London has more startups and programmers than almost any other city in the world, and estimates say there may be more IT programmers in the city than the state of California.

2.) New York

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According to the state comptroller, nearly 7,000 high-tech companies employed more than 100,000 people in New York in 2013, and according to the study, despite an old infrastructure, the city is very progressive in its use of technology.

1.) San Francisco

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With Silicon Valley in its shadow, San Francisco was named the top high-tech city in the world by the World Economic Forum and Business Insider.